Athena the cat is back with her family after spending three harrowing days mewing from atop a 60-foot power pole in Las Cruces, N.M., as her owners prepared for the worst. Athena was rescued after the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Department convinced El Paso Electric to shut off the power line and provide a bucket truck so the Animal Control supervisor, Lt. Mary Lou Ward, could bring the cat down.

Money is a motivator Hoarder rewarded after cleaning up

At 11 a.m. on Monday, Jeffrey Weber, the managing agent for 344 E 65th St., walked into Apt. 4D and looked around in amazement. Three weeks ago, the place was packed floor to ceiling with the possessions of Kevin McCrary, 65, who spent years filling his New York City apartment, floor to ceiling, with items he found on the street. But McCrary, facing eviction, had spent the past weeks emptying the place to meet the deadline of a buyout deal, under which the building's management would pay him $12,000 if he cleared out the railroad-style one-bedroom, which he has inhabited for 30 years. And now Weber was walking around the place, staring in disbelief. "It's good to be able to see the floor and the ceiling," he said, looking at the dingy walls and the peeling ceiling. "Was that so hard?" he quipped to McCrary.

Stop talking already

Man arrested for speaking too long

A Michigan man has been arrested after authorities say he refused to stop talking past a three-minute time limit for public comment at a township board meeting. Mark A. Adams, 59, was arraigned Friday in Saginaw District Court on a felony charge of resisting and obstructing a police officer and a misdemeanor count of disturbing the peace. Adams was arrested at the March 4 meeting by three Bridgeport Township police officers. Authorities say he refused to stop talking when township officials told him to do so.

Educator error

Teacher gives kids non-alcoholic beer

A Michigan teacher made a poor choice by giving non-alcoholic beer to a class of fifth-graders in a history lesson, a school official said. Superintendent Ed Koledo said the teacher allowed Hyatt Elementary students in Linden to sample O'Doul's that had been brought to school by a student March 6 to represent ale common in the 1700s. The students were told that many people drank ale at the time because water was sometimes dirty or unhealthy. "We talked to the teacher and said this was an inappropriate choice," Koledo said. "There were a lot better choices to represent a colonial-era drink than what was chosen here." The students were allowed a small taste but none were forced to try the non-alcoholic beer, school officials said. Koledo, who didn't identify the teacher, said allowing non-alcoholic beer into the classroom was a mistake.